Update On April 27 Roosevelt Island Fire - Single Mom With 3 Kids Moving Into The Manhattan Park Apartment That Day Have All Belongings Destroyed, Seeking Help For Fire Recovery

Reported last Friday:

... There was a fire this afternoon on the 9th floor of 10 River Road at the Manhattan Park residential complex on Main Street on Roosevelt Island at 5:30 p.m.

Some 25 FDNY and NYPD emergency vehicles responded to the incident. The cause of the fire appears to be electrical.

There were no reported injuries in the apartment nor in the rest of the building. The tenant was not home at the time of the fire, however there was a cat in the apartment that died due to apparent smoke inhalation, said Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation Public Safety Director Jack McManus....

Brittney Gates was moving into the Manhattan Park apartment that caught fire that day with her children. Ms Gates reports:

I saw the article on the Manhattan Park fire - that was my home. I’m a single mother of 3, and I was moving in that day. The movers and I had just finished moving all of our belongings, and I was able to let our pet cat out of his cage and roam free. I left the apartment to pick my kids up in Queens (hadn’t unpacked anything, hadn’t plugged anything in, hadn’t used a single appliance).

An hour and a half later, I was driving over the RI bridge, when traffic stopped. 15 or more emergency vehicles rushed by. 10 minutes later, my property manager called and told me there was a smoke condition in my apartment, and to please see him when I arrived at the building.

It was the worst evening of my life - nothing was salvageable - we lost all of our furniture and boxes of clothes and dishes and pictures and documents. And most importantly, our dear pet cat (whose name is Cat). The firemen held onto his body, and put him in a box. My kids and I had him cremated on Sunday.

I have a good job, but I also have three kids and many bills, and am starting over from scratch. Would you be willing to share my gofundme page, to help gather funds to purchase furniture and clothes and food and household items for me and my kids? It would be greatly appreciated....

If you are able to help our new Roosevelt Island neighbors, please visit Ms. Gates Go Fund Me Fire Recovery page:

On the evening of April 27, 2018, Brittney Gates, a single mother of three and army veteran, lost all her worldly possessions, including her beloved cat ("Cat") in an apartment fire. Just hours earlier, she had moved into this very apartment on Roosevelt Island. What was supposed to be a joyous day, marking a new beginning in a new home for Brittney and her family, turned to a horrific tragedy.

Brittney is a courageous, self-reliant woman, who is not quick to ask for help. This is not about her asking for help but about us coming together to focus on solutions so that she and her children can rebuild their lives.

No words can help heal broken hearts in a tragedy like this, but our joint efforts can! While no amount of money can compensate for the loss of her family member, “Cat”, it can help her to kick off a new beginning for her family....

Ms Gates adds:

The property managers have found a vacant 2 bedroom apartment in a different MP building that they are letting us move into today